MAPLETON -- It will be years before the newly planted trees will reach the size of the ones they are meant to replace, but volunteers feel it is worth the wait.
Members of the Old Mission Historical Society, Boy Scout Troops 31 and 34, of Traverse City, and the Old Mission Peninsula Tree Project set 40 maples along Peninsula roads Saturday, as part of the project that began in 1999.
Old Mission residents Rebecca and Leo Nothstine spearheaded the original volunteer effort to replace the maple trees planted by 19th century settlers in honor of the first centennial of the United States.
Providing Old Mission peninsula roads with a canopy of shade in the summer and bright colors in the fall, the original "maple lanes" had been thinned by age and progress.
"Many of the trees were no longer healthy or had been cut down," said Cal Jamieson, a retired farmer, lifelong Old Mission Peninsula resident and current chairman of the Old Mission Tree Project.
"We are doing what we can to replace as many as possible," Jamieson said.
In the decade since the Nothstines and volunteers planted 30 sugar maples and ornamentals along Center and Old Mission roads, some 300 saplings have been planted in locations from the base of the Peninsula to the lighthouse at the northern tip.
All of the trees have been planted on private property, with the consent of the property owner and are spaced at intervals allowing for future driveways.
"I have so many memories of the trees that lined Center Road," said Patty Rudolph, who has spent most of her summers at the Old Mission property purchased by her grandfather in 1898.
"They were magnificent," said Rudolph, a member of the Old Mission Historical Society who was among the volunteers planting young maples on Saturday morning.
The trees, paid for by private donations to the Old Mission Historical Society and a 2001 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, are maintained by local farmers, students and volunteers. Memorial trees may be purchased in memory of someone and include a small plaque at the base.
For more information on the Old Mission Peninsula Tree Project, call Cal Jamieson at 223-4394.
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